Perceptions of Turkish EFL instructors and their students on native and non-native accents of English and English as a lingua franca (ELF)

Abstract

In the current study, perceptions of Turkish EFL instructors and their students on native and non-native accents of English and English as a lingua franca (ELF) were explored. Moreover, how the EFL instructors and students see the position and ownership of English as a native language and as a lingua franca all over the world and their own use of ELF was also investigated. The study was conducted with 78 non-native English instructors and 214 English prep school students at a state university. The data were collected over a six-week period via an online survey that consisted of four sections. Descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized in the analysis. The results indicated that both the instructors and students were aware of ELF on a theoretical level, yet had some hesitations about the practical implications of it. The results also showed that participants liked the native accents (i.e. British, American) more than the non-native ones. Moreover, the speakers of the native accents were associated with characteristics that are more positive. Both the instructors and students had a positive attitude towards English language and were aware of its instrumental and widespread value, but regarded the native speakers as the owner of the language.